Nearing the end of his first term, Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers said he wants to keep his position for another four years.

Suthers announced his intention Tuesday to seek re-election in the April 2019 municipal election.

“I will not make a formal announcement until January, but will use the next four months to organize a campaign and raise funds for it,” he said.

Suthers, former Colorado attorney general, won his mayoral seat in an April 2015 runoff election against former Colorado Springs Mayor Mary Lou Makepeace, the first woman elected to the position in the city. He replaced former Mayor Steve Bach, who did not run for re-election.

“I am pleased with the progress the city has made in the last 3 years in meeting a variety of challenges and I look forward to continuing that momentum in a second term,” he said.

Just this year, Suthers headed a charge resurrecting a controversial set of stormwater fees this November, estimated to free $17 million annually in the city’s general fund. While that money may only be spent on 71 projects to mitigate floodwaters and pollutants that have harmed downstream communities, the freed general fund money is already earmarked to raise city employees’ salaries, hire more police officers and firefighters and improve transportation services.

More recently, the city, Colorado College and the Switchbacks minor league soccer team announced plans to build a 10,000-seat outdoor stadium in southwest downtown, which will serve as the Switchbacks’ new home as early as the 2020 season. That stadium will be joined by a 3,000-seat indoor arena for the Colorado College men’s hockey team. That facility will be built on the south side of campus.

Both projects, announced in July, constitute the fourth and final piece in the $120.5 million City for Champions initiative proposed in 2013 and meant to give a strong boost to the downtown economy by bringing in hundreds of thousands of new, out-of-state visitors to town each year.

“At this stage of my career my focus is on becoming a good ancestor,” Suthers said. “I view continuing my public service as Mayor of Colorado Springs as a great opportunity to do that.”

This story will be updated.